Burned Into Glory

Geliebte

"Come on! We have to find the perfect tree!"

She giggled like mad as she trudged through the snow, through the little forest in the flat bit outside the castle where he'd first kissed her for real. Her black furry boots were caked with glittery white snow, and she wore warm leggings and her long fur-lined black coat with mittens and a wool hat as she whirled around and laughed. Heavy snowflakes fell lazily from the sky, and Queenie stuck out her tongue and caught them.

Grindelwald stopped walking. He'd never seen anything like this - this blissful child, this happiness before him. His eyes actually burned a little, and he pulled his leather overcoat more tightly about him as he gulped. She made his stomach quiver, being so delightful as she was. Her golden curls caught snowflakes and held them, and when she grinned broadly at him, she was so beautiful that his breath caught. Her nose was pink from the chill, and she sniffled a little as she said joyfully,

"It can be nice and big and go in that two-storey drawing room, can't it? Can we take a big one? Put glowing baubles all over it?"

"Whatever you want," he said softly, and she seemed to sense that he'd gone serious. Her smile faded a little, and as Grindelwald pulled out the Elder Wand, she began to walk among the trees, studying them, examining them.

"This one's stumpy," she said, trudging by a roundish-looking pine. "This one's too skinny."

Grindelwald adjusted his hold on the Elder Wand in his leather-gloved hand, and he followed her, considering for the briefest moment the idea of Obliviating her of all the memories they'd made together. The cottage. Dancing. Nights in his bed. He could take it all away from her and turn her into an obedient, blank servant. But he didn't want that. He wanted Queenie. This Queenie. His Queenie.

"Oh. This one." She turned and faced a full, beautiful pine tree whose branches had been dusted with snow, and she clapped her mittened hands together. "This one."

He came to stand beside her, and he turned his face down to her. He opened his mouth to speak, feeling the need to tell her something. It was a powerful urge within him, the sensation that he needed to reveal something to her. She looked up at him, wide-eyed and gorgeous, and she smiled warmly.

"This tree is perfect," she told him, and he shut his mouth and nodded.

"Diffindo." He sliced through the trunk of the tree and moved out of the way as it came tipping down. Then he Levitated it all the way back to the castle. Inside, they set it up with a Preserving Charm and cleared the snow off of it, and then Queenie set to decorating it whilst Grindelwald stood back and watched. She enchanted it to twinkle with little glimmering lights, to shine with Conjured glass bulbs in shades of silver and grey, to be strung with silver beads, and she put a glittering silver star on the top. When at last it was done, she grinned and laughed contentedly, clapping her hands, and she tucked her wand away.

"This is the most beautiful Christmas tree I've ever seen," she declared. "Teenie and I used to string popcorn and dried cranberries before we could legally do magic, and we'd put that on our little pathetic tree, but this is so much more beautiful."

She seemed sad all of a sudden, talking about her sister, and Grindelwald stared at the beautiful tree as he promised her,

"Someday she'll see, Queenie. Someday she will join us. She will be with you again."

"You think so?" Queenie's eyes had rimmed with tears when he looked over to her. He stepped up to her and took her face in his hands, and he promised her,

"I know it. I know it is true. You and your sister will be reunited in glory. Today we celebrate your good sense and your loyalty to the future. Hmm?"